Gustave A. Larson and Controlled Environmental Systems Pull Off One Sweet Deal!

June 2001 HVAC Insider

How do you get chocolate to stick to candy cherries? That was the issue facing Premier Candies of Hammond, Indiana when they asked the assistance of Controlled Environmental Systems of Orland Park. Premier Candy has been in business sine 1904 and according to Plant Manger, Craig Brown, “Much of our refrigeration equipment is dated and we had a need to significant upgrading. We have a chocolate covered cherry product that requires a cool room to take the cherries from 160 degrees to 50 degrees in 2 hours. Once the cherries are at 50 degrees we can then continue the process of chocolate coating which will only adhere to the cherries at a cool temperature.”

“We were very pleased with the design assistance we had received from Controlled Environmental, Gustave A. Larson, and Dave Lindahl, the local Bohn representative,” says Brown. Gary Nelson of the Gustave A. Larson South Holland Store assisted in coordinating the job design with Lindahl and Steve Swing, the Job Foreman with Controlled Environmental. “The key upgrade concept was to add 4” insulation in 2 by 4 studs and back it up with foam. This plan allowed us to reduce the equipment capacity by 30% and guarantee 50 degree temperatures on a 95 degree day,” says Swing. Bill Wilson, the Shop Manager for Premier also assisted on the project and was able on convince Craig Brown that the upgraded equipment would save Premier in the long run.

Job coordination was managed by Gary Nelson of the South Holland Gustave A. Larson store. “Managing a job of this size is all about teamwork,” says Gary. “We worked closely with Dave Lindahl, and Controlled Environmental to assure a smooth install and start up at the job site. The equipment was staged at the South Holland Store and delivered in our open bed truck, which is ideal for crane lifts. Commercial refrigeration is what we do best as a company and our entire team at South Holland gets excited when we can help customers solve refrigeration projects like Premier Candy,” says Gary.